The present invention is directed to a sleeve or support for a brick-type package and a dispenser for the contents of the package.
Brick-type packages are well-known in the art. These brick-type packages have four upstanding sidewalls, a flat bottom and a flat or gable top.
Many of the brick-type packages are used in food service establishments for storing beverages or beverage concentrates. As such, dispensing the product can be problematic. It is not desirable to leave the open package dispensing location: it is not hygienic and can result in contamination of the product.
Then it has been proposed to equip this kind of brick-type packages with a manual pump dispenser that is fitted in the top pour spout of the package. This pump is usually disposable so that when the package is empty the pump and the package can be thrown away. While such an arrangement may serve to improve hygiene and also the consistency for dosing the liquid stored in the package, it has been found difficult to press the pump due to the relative flexibility of the brick-type package. Actually although brick-type packages are somewhat rigid, they are typically made of a laminate having a paperboard core. Then pressure exercised on the pump and indirectly on the package can result in compressed or crushed walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,892 has proposed a solution to this problem consisting in a dispensing support that provides structural support in a dispenser for use with an associated brick-type package. The dispensing support includes a sleeve having at least three contiguous walls including at least one side wall and a top wall. The at least one side wall is configured to extend along the length of the one of the package side panels. The top wall has an opening therein configured to lie along the package top. The sleeve includes a locking element extending from one of the walls at a free end thereof. The locking element is configured to engage one of the package panels to secure the package within the sleeve. A pump dispenser extends through the top wall opening and is configured for insertion into the package. The package is fitted into and retained within the sleeve and the dispenser operates to dispense product from the package. An upwardly projecting spout can extend from the top wall opening. The spout can include threads formed thereon to threadedly engage the pump dispenser.
The prior art only provides a solution for brick-type packages presenting a flat top. But many brick-type packages present a gable top and cannot be used with a manual pump dispenser because once the pump dispenser is fitted in the pour spout it is not vertically oriented and then does not enable the normal correct handling of the pump.
Accordingly, there exists a need for providing brick-type packages presenting a gable top with a pump dispenser that can be vertically oriented and then correctly handled.